This is the poem that Frank J. Gilbert,
president of the Board of the "Ten Dayton Boys Club" wrote for Wilbur
Wright's funeral.

Oct. 12, 1912

A funeral wreath in the shape of a
Wright Model B Flyer. The wreath is inscribed with "Our President, From
the Factory."

Funeral wreath for Wilbur Wright

Wilbur returned from a trip to Boston on May 2, 1912. During the trip
Wilbur was ill, and while he was healthier, his family noted he was still not
himself. On the afternoon of his return, he, Orville, and Katharine, along
with their nephew Milton, went on a picnic at the site of their new home. That
evening, Wilbur complained of a fever, and the family called Dr. D.B. Conklin.
Dr. Conklin diagnosed Wilbur with malarial fever. The fever did not stop
Wilbur from going to the Huffman Prairie Flying Field on May 4, 1912, or
writing a letter to Frederick Fish, The Wright Company patent attorney. But
this activity proved too much for Wilbur, and his father recorded in his diary
that Wilbur suffered from a high fever on the evening of May 4, and he called
Dr. Conklin once again. As the fever progressed, Dr. Conklin began thinking
that Wilbur suffered from typhoid fever instead of malaria.

Wilbur developed full blown typhoid fever over the next several days.
Wilbur, knowing that his health was failing, sent for Ezra Kuhns, a lawyer who
was Orville's high school classmate. With Kuhns as the witness, Wilbur
dictated his will to Mabel Beck, his secretary, who formerly worked for
Knabenshue when he managed the exhibition team.

Wilbur continued to fight the fever, and assured that his brother was in
no immediate danger, Orville left for Washington on May 16 to deliver an
airplane. When his brother fell unconscious two days later, Orville
immediately returned to Dayton to be at his bedside. Dr. Conklin and Dr.
Spitler, the physician who treated Orville's bout with typhoid in 1896,
prescribed opiates to treat the fever. When Wilbur's condition failed to
improve, the two doctors called in a specialist from Cincinnati.

To assist in caring for Wilbur, the family hired two nurses. Miss Nellie
Sullivan was the first nurse they hired, and she was followed shortly
thereafter by Miss Marie Sheets. The two nurses worked eight-hour shifts. Miss
Sullivan shared the information that Wilbur was rarely conscious, but during
her shifts she could revive him to take nourishment and medicine through a
medicine dropper.

Wilbur's prognosis continued to go up and down. Some days he appeared to
be better and, then the following day, he would be worse. As Wilbur's illness
progressed and his condition became more grave, the citizens of Dayton
carefully followed the state of his health in the local newspapers. Detailed
reports including Wilbur's temperature, respiration, and pulse appeared in
articles informing people of the city's hero.

By May 27, the family believed that Wilbur was near death. Both Conklin
and Spitler arrived early in the morning and spent most of the day at the
house. Reuchlin, who had traveled from Kansas, saw Wilbur in the afternoon,
and Milton, believing his son was very near death, slept with his clothes on
that night. Wilbur continued to grow worse, and at 3:15 in the morning on May
30, 1912, he passed away.
Milton recorded his thoughts on the death of his son in his diary:

A short life, full of consequences. An
unfailing intellect, imperturable [sic] temper, great selfreliance [sic] and
as great modesty, seeing the right clearly, pursuing it steadily, he lived
and died.

Over a thousand condolences were received at the Wright home, and the
news of Wilbur's death brought many tributes in newspapers throughout the
world. At forty-five, Wilbur had lived a relatively short life, but his
achievement as co-inventor of the airplane was recognized worldwide.

Wilbur's funeral and burial was on June 1. His body laid in state at the
First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Ludlow and Second Streets from ten
in the morning until one o'clock in the afternoon. All who wished to view the
body were guaranteed admittance. Many thousands of people stood in line at the
church and a constant flow of individuals passed by the body to pay their last
respects to the man who with his brother solved the problem of human flight.

The funeral began at the church at three o'clock, and it was open to the
public. The Dayton Journal reported that the family planned a quiet and
simple ceremony in keeping with Wilbur's tastes and personality. Reverend
Maurice E. Wilson, pastor of the church, officiated at the short funeral. He
read the hymn "Oh, God, Our Help in Ages Past," an entry from the
Presbyterian Book of Forms, and several scriptures including the
twenty-third Psalm. The service ended with a brief sermon by Reverend Wilson
on the many admirable qualities of the deceased.

The honorary pallbearers for the service were Robert J. Collier, Charles
Jerome Edwards, Russell A. Alger, Fred Alger, John H. Patterson, Honorable
James M. Cox, Dr. Levy Spitler, and Dr. D.B. Conklin. Those bearing the casket
were two representatives each from the Dayton Aeroplane Club, Ten Dayton Boys,
and The Wright Company: Oscar J. Needham and Frank B. Hale represented the
Dayton Aeroplane Club; Charles Olinger and Edgar W. Ellis the Ten Dayton Boys;
and Arthur Gabel and James Jacobs The Wright Company.

Evidence of the respect the citizens and business community of Dayton
had for Wilbur was visible throughout the city the day of his funeral. The
flags at The National Cash Register Company were at half mast for the day and
a notice of Wilbur's death and a portrait were posted on all the bulletin
boards throughout the company. The Chamber of Commerce requested that all
retail establishments close from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. and that citizens cease all
activity for that time. In addition, all the church bells in the city rang
from 3:30 to 3:35 p.m. and the street and interurban cars as well as the
railroad trains stopped out of respect for the memory of Wilbur. During those
five minutes, telephone service in the city also ceased.

Immediately after the services, the family, pallbearers, and close
family friends traveled in twenty-five carriages to Woodland Cemetery for the
grave side service. As Wilbur's body and those going to the cemetery traveled
through the streets, they were observed by throngs of people who lined the
two-mile route. At the grave, side still more people waited for the family.
The grave side service was very short, consisting of a prayer and benediction.
At the completion of the service, flowers were dropped on the casket as it was
lowered into the ground.

The day following the services, Ezra Kuhns came to the Wright home to
read Wilbur's last will and testament. Wilbur's estate was eventually valued
by the Montgomery County Probate Court at $279,298.40. The first beneficiary
listed in the will was Wilbur's father. Wilbur thanked Milton for his "example
of a courageous, upright life, and for his earnest sympathy with everything
tending to my true welfare" and bequeathed to him the sum of $1,000 for
"little unusual expenditures as might add to his comfort and pleasure."

The bulk of Wilbur's estate, the sum of $150,000, was divided equally
among Reuchlin, Lorin, and Katharine. The remainder of the estate, including
the patents and jointly held stock in the Wright Company, went to Orville.
Wilbur felt that Orville, "who has been associated with me in all the hopes
and labors both of childhood and manhood, and who, I am sure, will use the
property in very much the same manner as we would use it together in case we
would both survive until old age."

As the executor, Orville distributed Wilbur's various bequeaths. The
only problem he experienced was with Reuchlin who returned $1,000 of the
$50,000 to his father. Many years earlier, Reuchlin had distanced himself from
the family by moving to Kansas, and he felt he should not receive the same
amount as Lorin and Katharine. Reuchlin believed that if Wilbur had had more
time to consider the various bequeaths in his will that he would have done it
differently. Milton returned the $1,000 to Reuchlin with the comment,
"Everyone of us wants it carried out in every particular, as if it were sacred
Writ....Orville regards the will as if sacred, and will carry it out
precisely."

With Wilbur's death, Orville was forced to continue without his partner.
Milton believed that Orville and Katharine felt the loss of their brother most
of all the family members. In response to their loss, they dedicated
themselves to each other and the patent litigation. With Wilbur no longer part
of the team, Orville focused his energy on the battles that Wilbur had been
fighting by becoming more involved in the patent suits, and he also became
more involved in the daily operations and business side of The Wright Company.
Katharine whole-heartedly supported her youngest brother, just as she had both
brothers. Orville learned to function without his lifelong partner and filled
some of the voids by further depending upon his sister.

Two significant events adversely impacted the future of the
Wright Company. The first was the death of Wilbur in 1912. He
contracted typhoid fever while on a business trip, possibly
from contaminated shellfish, and died. It didnít help that he
had been under stress at the time from the pressure of
business and the legal fight defending their patent.

The second significant event was the 1914 decision by the
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the Wrightís patent
as airtight

The death of Wilbur was significant because he was the
businessman and visionary of the two brothers. Orville, who
became president of the company after Wilburís death, was not
that interested in the business side of the company. He was
more concerned with "technical things."

For instance, papers needing his signature would pile up in
his office while he was out in the factory working on some
engineering problem. He didnít even maintain an office at the
company headquarters, preferring to keep an office in the old
bicycle shop.

By the time of Wilburís death, Wright aircraft were no
longer the best airplanes flying. An estimated five year lead
on the competition that the Wrights had at one time had
evaporated. Much of their time had been spent in pursuing
numerous lawsuits against competitors, such as Glenn Curtiss,
who violated their patent and generally managed to circumvent
injunctions and continue flying while their suits were
pending.

Also, the management of Wright Companies formed in Europe
was fraught with problems and took up valuable time. Quality
of manufacturing was often poor and unauthorized alterations
to designs were common.

Consequently, there was too little time to spend on
research and engineering activities and as a result they lost
momentum. Others were making important technical advances such
as replacing wing warping with ailerons, enclosing fuselages
and utilizing single-wing design.

The Wrights did make improvements in their designs but lost
leadership to the Europeans who were supported by their
governments arming for the World War I. Another reason they
fell behind is that the brothers may have believed that
changes to basic designs would invalidate their patent.

One of the Wright improvements was the Model B. In 1911,
the Wright Model B used wheels and incorporated control
services in the tail. The Model B was the first Wright plane
to be built in quantity. Some 80-100 were believed to have
been built.

One Model B was sold to Pancho-Villa in Mexico.

In 1912, the Model C incorporated an automatic stabilizer.
In 1913, The Model F, built for the U.S. Army, was built with
a fuselage.

Between 1910 and 1915 the company produced ten distinct
designs. Only two of them - the model B and the Model C - were
manufactured in significant quantity.